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U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Strengthening the Homeland Security Enterprise Over the past several years, DHS and our partners have evolved and strengthened our homeland security enterprise in order to better defend against evolving terrorist threats. This enterprise extends far beyond DHS and the many departments and agencies that contribute to our homeland security mission. A key part includes working directly with law enforcement, state and local leaders, community-based organizations, private sector and international partners.

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Progress Made Since 9/11

Federal Government Partnerships

Within the federal government, many departments and agencies contribute to the homeland security mission. The nation's armed forces are on the front lines of homeland security by degrading al-Qa'ida's capabilities to attack the United States and targets throughout the world. The Director of National Intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the entire Intelligence Community, of which DHS is a member, are producing better streams of intelligence than at any time in history. The Administration has made critical enhancements to the federal watchlist systems and to the coordination of the Federal government's counterterrorism e�orts. The Federal homeland security enterprise also includes the strong presence of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), whose role in leading terrorism investigations has led to the arrest of more than two-dozen Americans on terrorism-related charges since 2009.

State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Partners

DHS has focused on getting resources and information out of Washington, D.C. and into the hands of state and local law enforcement, to provide them with the tools to identify and combat threats in their communities. Because state and local law enforcement are o�en in the best position to notice the first signs of a planned attack, homeland security e�orts must be integrated into the police work that they do every day, providing o�icers on the front lines with a clear understanding of the tactics, behaviors, and other indicators that could point to terrorist activity.

DHS supports these e�orts through robust information sharing with public and private sector partners; fusion centers (/state-and-major-urban-area-

fusion-centers) to build analytical capability at the state and local level; participation in the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative – an Administration e�ort to train state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators related to terrorism, crime and other threats, and FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) that investigate terrorist threats. DHS also helps state and local partners build and sustain capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from threats or acts of terrorism through grant funding, training and technical assistance. In 2009, DHS designated Tribal liaisons in every operational component to work directly with tribal communities. In 2011, DHS announced a new Tribal Consultation Policy outlining the guiding principles under which all elements of the Department will engage with sovereign tribal governments.

Private Sector Outreach

The private sector is an integral component of the homeland security enterprise, and through the Department's private sector o�ice, DHS has improved coordination of private sector engagement across the Department, facilitating more e�ective and rapid communication with key organizations and bolstering regionally-focused information sharing e�orts. Since 9/11, DHS also has prioritized private sector preparedness through programs such as the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep™), Ready Business, the development and deployment of new technologies, and by incorporating private sector partners from the outset when developing new policies, programs and initiatives.

International E�orts

DHS works closely with international partners, including major multilateral organizations and global businesses to strengthen the security of the networks of global trade and travel upon which the nation's economy and communities rely. DHS has enhanced the security of the aviation system, not only in airports throughout the United States, but also in airports abroad, by working directly with foreign governments, international organizations, and the aviation industry to raise aviation security standards. The Administration's global supply chain initiative is building on many of these partnerships, including work with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), World Customs Organization (WCO), and International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Public Engagement

The public also plays a key role in our strengthened homeland security enterprise. Through the nationwide expansion of the "If You See Something, Say Something®" campaign (/see-something-say-something) , which was originally implemented by New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, DHS is raising public awareness of indicators of terrorism and crime while emphasizing the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the proper law enforcement authorities. Recently, DHS replaced the color-coded alert system with the new National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) (/national-terrorism-advisory-system) –a robust terrorism advisory system that provides timely information to the

Last Updated: 12/21/2022

Implementing 9/11 Commission Recommendations

Topics

HOMELAND SECURITY ENTERPRISE (/TOPICS/HOMELAND-SECURITY-ENTERPRISE)

Keywords

TARGETED VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM PREVENTION (TVTP) (/KEYWORDS/TARGETED-VIOLENCE-AND-TERRORISM-PREVENTION-TVTP)

public and the private sector, as well as to state, local and tribal governments about credible terrorist threats and recommended security measures.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its many partners across the federal government, public and private sectors, and communities across the country and around the world have worked since 9/11 to build a new homeland security enterprise to better mitigate and defend against dynamic threats, minimize risks, and maximize the ability to respond and recover from attacks and disasters of all kinds.

Together, these e�orts have provided a strong foundation to protect communities from terrorism and other threats, while safeguarding the fundamental rights of all Americans.

While threats persist, our nation is stronger than it was on 9/11, more prepared to confront evolving threats, and more resilient in the face of our continued challenges.

Read the Implementing 9/11 Commission Recommendations (/implementing-911-commission-recommendations) , Progress Report 2011

HSINT and State, Local and Tribal Authorities Many members of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) have key roles and relationships to support the shared mission of protecting the homeland, since no one agency at the federal, state, or local level can single handedly secure the nation.

These partners work with one another, and through established channels with the private sector (e.g., critical infrastructure owners and operators), as part of a complex web of relationships. Each partner, regardless of level, plays an important role in protecting the homeland with respect to warning, interdiction, prevention, mitigation, and response. The importance of partnerships and collaboration is emphasized (Clapper, 2016, p. 7).

This “web of relationships” is highly complex and based on a myriad of laws, regulations, policies, and informal practices that have developed and morphed over time. The domestic intelligence abuses discussed in week 3 greatly impacted the interactions between intelligence and law enforcement agencies for decades to come. It was not until 9/11 that this wall came down, as well as furthering the recognition that state and local agencies have a major role to play. As the Deputy Chief, Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau of the Los Angeles Police Department wrote,

Covering 3.79 million sq. mi. with 330+ million people, the US has 3,006 counties and 4.488 cities with 10,000 or more people, 18 federal intelligence agencies and in excess of 18,000 local law enforcement agencies with 670,000+ full-time law enforcement officers. This presents a challenge to collaboration, but an opportunity for expertise to be developed and shared. Whether it's realized will be decided by how effectively agencies collaborate- with each other, the private sector, academia, and their communities (Downing, 2015).

The lack of effective sharing that enabled the 9/11 hijackers was a result of a failure to share between agencies like the CIA and FBI (inter-agency coordination) as well as a failure to share within agencies (intra-agency like FBI field offices to FBI headquarters). Some inter-agency issues were made intra-agencies challenges with the absorption of 22 different agencies into the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. A recent intra-agency challenge was revealed when DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were blocked from their investigation and potential on- site arrest of terrorist accomplice Enrique Marquez after the 2015 San Bernardino shootings by other DHS officials from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (Vicinanzo, 2016).

These examples are all discussing federal collaboration within and between federal agencies. However, that type of coordination and sharing alone is insufficient to secure the nation. It is imperative to realize that homeland security intelligence operates within our federal system with independent and largely "sovereign" state, local, and even tribal agencies participating in the process. This genesis of this statement can trace itself back to the U.S. Constitution, specifically the 10th Amendment which reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor

prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people” (U.S. Constitution). States further delegate many public safety responsibilities down to the local level. Knowing this helps us see why we have much overlap of federal, state, and local agencies all with a role in homeland security. This is also where the national network of state and locally owned and operated fusion centers come into play. These fusion centers are potentially excellent frameworks for information sharing and collaboration among all three levels of government when it comes to intelligence support for homeland security. However, they have also been the subject of numerous critical reports by various politicians and privacy advocacy groups.